


Erstickend

by Sego_Lily



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Awkward Romance, Background Nott (Critical Role), Caleb Widogast Deserves Nice Things, Cliche, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Jester POV, Jester loves to tease but consent is important, POV Third Person, This is completely self indulgent and I love cliches, Trapped In A Closet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 16:09:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18781648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sego_Lily/pseuds/Sego_Lily
Summary: "Jester supposed this was her fault.Maybe she shouldn't have flipped that last painting upside down, and maybe she shouldn't have made Nugget poof right into the stuffy looking elven woman's lap, but the party was just so boring! Every fibre of her being chafed at the uptightness of it all, not to mention her lace collared dress that she had once swooned over being so pretty. It wasn't as pretty now that it felt like it was choking her. There were so many people in one place taking themselves wayyy to seriously. So what if there were a few more dicks painted on the wall then there were before?"Caleb and Jester are stuck in a supply closet. Oh no, whatever could happen? Certainly not anything untoward.





	Erstickend

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in yearsss and it is unbeta'd, so it'll be a little rough around the edges. I'm transferring the work from Google docs so the formatting might look a little off but I'll try and fix it and any grammatical errors as I go along.
> 
> I just love every interaction between these two and Jester is the sweetest little bean. I'd honestly be happy with whoever she ends up with (if anyone! She doesn't need romance for a happy ending) but I have a secret little wish that it's Caleb.
> 
> This is set in an ambiguous future where Caleb is a little more comfortable with everyone and hates himself just a little less. Because he deserves to be happy. The End.

Jester supposed this was her fault.

 

 _Maybe_ she shouldn't have flipped that last painting upside down, and _maybe_ she shouldn't have made Nugget poof right into the stuffy looking elven woman's lap, but the party was just so boring! Every fibre of her being chafed at the uptightness of it all, not to mention her lace collared dress that she had once swooned over being _so_ pretty. It wasn't as pretty now that it felt like it was choking her. There were so many people in one place taking themselves wayyy to seriously. So what if there were a few more dicks painted on the wall then there were before?

 

However she digressed, this was very, undoubtedly, definitely her fault.

 

A fact that her companion was very mercifully not bringing up at the moment, but she could also attribute that to being overwhelmed at being trapped in a rather tight closet with hers truly, hiding from the guards. She struggled not to poke him in the neck with her horn as she adjusted herself in front of him, prompting a muffled curse in Zemnian to come out of his mouth.

 

“I'm so so so sooooo sorry Cayleb!” Her voice is hushed, but she still winces as she hears the loud boot falls of more men rushing past the door, “I like, totally didn't realize that lady was looking at me, I thought Fjord was still working his magic on her and I was just thinking _hey that guy’s neck flub would look sorta like a penis if I flipped the painting_ and-”

 

“Lavorre, _bitte,_ please slow down for just a moment.” He pleads, and she clamps her mouth shut. There is fumbling behind her and she hears the familiar twang of a wire being pulled taut, “Ah, Jester and I made it to a storage closet in the east wing, to the left of the main hall and then seventeen doors down, on the right.” His voice has taken on that strained and anxious quality that he gets when he desperately wants to flee, and she feels a pang of guilt in her gut.

 

He is quiet for a moment as he presumably receives a message back from Nott, and then he makes a small noise of displeasure, “We will wait here then.” There is an awkward silence for a moment before he clears his throat, addressing her this time, “Well, ah, the good news is they said the commotion was precisely what they needed to grab the artifact from the auction table.” He heaves a long suffering sigh, “Bad news, unless you can cast that door of yours we must wait a while before this settles down.”

 

Jester tries to visualize a point within the spell's range that would be safe for them to teleport to, but nothing comes to mind, and there's no guarantee that it would be empty. The risk was just too great. She shakes her head and too late realizes how close he is and feels her horn catch on something, the brief hiss of pain confirming her fear. “Oh no! Here, let me-” She wiggles, twisting in the cramped closet until she's turned around, now chest to chest with a very grumpy looking wizard.

 

“I ummm, I can't think of a safe place to send us to sooooo…” She wriggles one of her arms free, wiping a bit of sweat off her brow. She ran so cold usually, it's Caleb who apparently runs as hot as the nine hells. “So I guess we better get cozy!” She gives him what she sincerely hopes is a reassuring grin, but if anything he looks even more distressed.

 

He is quiet for a moment, and she sees his throat bob beneath his high collared suit. Though it is dark she can see that the shade of his skin has grown darker, that familiar blush she has to admit that she's fond of present on his face. It occurs to her at last the position they are in, and she tilts her head to the side, considering the implications. This was almost exactly the same scenario that happened in one of the smut novels that she and Caleb share. A couple having a secret tryst in a closet, away from prying eyes. Well, she did _like_ Caleb. His eyes were a lovely shade of blue, almost as lovely as her skin, and he was awfully cute when he smiled. She was still unsure of her feelings for Fjord, but it had been _some_ time since the temple, and she had grown pretty tired of waiting for him to bring it up with her. It seemed like he was content to pretend it never happened. Which definitely twists something painful inside her.

 

It's when she's staring at him that he finally speaks up, “Does The Traveler ask you to do these things? These shenanigans?” His tone is carefully measured now, but she can always tell when he's trying to steer the conversation towards less dangerous territory.

 

“Well, not exactly… he asks me to keep the balance, yanno? If I see someone who's too stuffy and full of themselves I gotta knock em down a few pegs.” She tugs at her collar, which is itching like nothing has the right to, “And you know when you see something and you just think _oh so and so would love this_ and you get it for them? It's kind of like that for me. I just want to make The Traveler happy because I love him and he is my best friend!”

 

“ _Ja_ , I do know what that is like,” There is a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips, so Jester knows he isn't really mad, “but I don't think picking up a book that I think someone would enjoy has quite the same collateral damage.”

 

“I dunno… the most recent book I got from you gave me some _in-ter-esting_ ideas.”

 

Her grin has turned wicked now, as she watches Caleb quickly go over in his head the last book he lent to her, and impossibly his flush deepens.

 

Wiggling her other arm free as well, she hooks both of them around Caleb's neck, biting her lip to stifle her giggles, “ _Oh, Herr Widogast, how forward of you, sneaking me away from the party._ ”

 

Caleb doesn't immediately panic, instead one of his eyebrows raises a fraction. And is that a spark of something in those lovely eyes of his? He’s _interested_ in where this is going, despite his earlier embarrassment.

 

She closes the very small distance between them, shamelessly draping herself on him just for the thrill of it. He tenses slightly, and she meets his eyes, serious for the time being. She isn't sure if he can see her with just the light from under the door illuminating them, but she hopes he can read the sincerity in her eyes.

 

“If you want me to stop, just say so, okay? Even if you think it will upset me.” She's deep in it now, but Caleb has been _terribly handsome_ all night and now he's right here! The wizard relaxes, if only slightly, but she can see the confusion written on his face. That confusion slowly morphs into something she doesn't recognize. Something that makes her stomach erupt in butterflies. The look holds such promise, but there is something else… a warning? But he just gives a small nod, and her seriousness is gone in an instant.

 

The tiefling threads her fingers through his hair, marvelling at how soft it is when it's clean. “ _Herr Widogast, we mustn't- Think of the scandal.”_ She murmurs against his neck, and he takes a sharp breath. His hands, previously held tensely at his sides, move to grasp her hips and oh, that is a nice feeling, being held. She presses a feather light kiss to his pulse, then his jaw, his cheek, and she pauses, right in front of his lips. Would this be her real first kiss? It would be one of her own choosing certainly, and that's the thought that makes her close the last inch between them, pressing her lips softly against his.

 

Caleb's reaction is immediate, one of his hands flies up to cup her jaw, while he wraps his other arm around her waist. While the kiss started innocently on her part, it's him who deepens it, running his tongue against her lips, and she instinctively opens up to him. A soft sigh escapes her and he pulls her impossibly closer in response, prompting her to arch her back. Jester is new to this, but she'd like to think that her enthusiasm makes up for her inexperience, and when she gives his lip a little bite as he pulls away to adjust the angle, she is rewarded with a stifled groan that he muffles into her mouth. She feels tingly all over and like she's flying and drowning all at once, and they go on like this for what feels like a lifetime for Jester, but if she asked she could certainly get the time from Caleb. He is the one who pulls back first, panting as he rests his forehead against hers.

 

“That was… _really good_.” She breathes, nudging her nose against his. It is at least thirty seconds before Caleb responds, and Jester would be nervous if he didn't still have his arm around her.

 

“ _J_ _a_ , well.” He swallows, the hand cupping her jaw moving to her shoulder. “I went a little overboard, I think.”

 

“No no no no, I think you went just the right amount of board, actually.”

 

“That's… good to hear, but Jester-”

 

“No buts! It was nice and maybe you should kiss me again maybe?”

 

She gets a huff of breath that could constitute a laugh in the Caleb Widogast book, and he gives her another kiss, this one slower and sweeter but no less significant. A slow give and take, push and pull, and her second kiss(es) are her new favorite. Her heart flutters in her chest and she wonders why she waited this long to try this with him, her sweet wizard who does not think he is good despite being so so kind and loving to their little family, helping to hold them together.

 

This new feeling in her heart is unexpected but not unwelcome.

 

When he retreats this time she just smiles at him, lowering down from her tippy toes to rest her head against his chest. She just wants to be held and she's relieved that his heart is also beating a mile a minute.

 

“We will need to talk about this later, you know.” His voice is inscrutable, and she hates it when he closes himself off like that, but he also isn't pushing her away.

 

“Yes, _later_ , but let me-no, let _us_ have this, okay? And know that I don't regret it one bit.” She removes her arms from his neck only to wrap around his middle, and after a few moments of tense silence, he wraps both of his arms around her as well.

 

“Thank you, blueberry.”

  
__________

 

She's tremendously thankful that Nott chooses to knock a few minutes later with her signature pattern that she is very insistent on using. Though Caleb nearly jumps out of his skin, he pulls away from Jester with a last squeeze of her hand before opening the door.

 

“We have to move quickly, come on you two!” Nott pauses when she sees Caleb’s blush which never really went away, and her gaze flicks between them before her eyes widen. But, thank The Traveler, she chooses to say nothing, instead grabbing Caleb's hand and tugging him forward, a nod of her head prompting Jester to follow.

 

When they reunite with their friends safely away from the estate, she meets Caleb's eye and winks. She knows they will have to talk about what this means when they have more time, but for now?

 

She pulls out her journal and begins telling The Traveler _all about it._

**Author's Note:**

> @The widojest discord server:  
> Let me in!  
> LET ME INNNNN
> 
> Please let me know know what you think, I hope I got Jester's speech patterns down.
> 
> youcanreplytothisfic


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